Mines and similar water submersed explosive devices can cause significant damage to naval vessels, not to mention harm and/or death to personnel on such vessels. One of the methods currently employed to detect and destroy submersed mines is by dragging a towed vehicle over the area of concern. The towed vehicle is submersed behind an aircraft and includes electrical circuitry for detecting and destroying submersed mines. Raytheon Corporation makes an AQ-S20 towed vehicle which is submersible and controlled via fiber optics embedded into a tow cable. Typically, the towed vehicle is hauled behind a helicopter during an Airborne Mine Countermeasures (AMCM) mission. The importance of the AMCM mission was highlighted during the Persian Gulf War when three US Navy warships struck World War I era mines, causing significant damage to the ships and nearly sinking one.
Currently, the AMCM towing mission is performed using a Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation S-65 series aircraft, particularly, the US Navy MH-53E and the Japan Naval Defense Force S-80M. These aircraft are very large and include an interior cabin with a retractable ramp. An airborne towed vehicle is retained within the cabin until deployment. The towed vehicle is stored in a cradle which can be moved fore and aft in the cabin. When it is desired to deploy the towed vehicle, the cradle is moved to the rear ramp. An A-frame assembly mounted to the aircraft above the ramp is used to lift the towed vehicle from the cradle. The cradle is then moved away and the ramp is lowered to a vertical position, clearing the area beneath the suspended towed vehicle. The towed vehicle is then lowered into the water using a cabin mounted winch. The cable that supports the towed vehicle includes a tow ball which is designed to engage with a hook formed on a tow boom mounted to the helicopter. This allows the tow boom and helicopter to support the towing loads and unload the winch. The operation is reversed to recover and stow the vehicle.
Due to the large size of the S-65 aircraft used in the AMCM mission, these aircraft are only compatible with large naval vessels, such as helicopter/aircraft carriers. To meet the diverse needs of the Navy, the United States military currently maintains forces that are dedicated to performing the AMCM mission. These forces are deployed to areas of concern on an as-needed basis. Accordingly. deployed naval forces must wait until the AMCM forces to arrive, detect and clear the area of mines.
A need therefore exists for a more versatile airborne towed vehicle deployment and retrieval system that can be used with smaller aircraft which are more readily available to the naval forces.